Chapter ooza
Laren’s POV
| often thought about the question Asia asked i
been satisfactory. But that we still hadn’t changed.
emely we’re
at
I loved her ce not. My answer then had not
Earlier in the day, while I had been simng my desk at the alpha headquarters building, I had been surprised when my parents burst into his offer, bypassing both my and my assistant,
“Larted!” my mother shouted outraged at the sight of morvorking behind my desk. “What are you doing here? Wingraen’t you out there combating these may utors?”
While I’d chosen to ignore what was written in the tabloids I was still well aware of the gossip. As Alpha King, 1 was frequently among the pages of the gossip rags. If she wanted me to know what she was talking about, she had to be more specifie
“What rumors?” I asked
“The entire pack is talking about how you are going to divorce Arial” Mom said, still speaking loudly.
thening forward, I rubbed my forehead “1know what they are saying
Then do something about it,” Dad said. His voice wasn’t as shrill or as loud, but his own anger still bubbled under the surface. He clearly held the same opinions as Mon
Aria has been gone for a month,” I admitted. It didn’t seem that short. When I checked the dates on the calendar that morning, I could have sworn she’d been gone for much longer.
Do you know where she is?” Dad asked.
“Yes” She was at Cathy’s, her best friend’s house.
“Then go and get her,” Dad said, as if it would be that easy.
“She left me,” I reminded them. “It hasn’t been easy trying to convince her to come back.”
“She’s a smart girl with a good head on her shoulders,” Mom said, bringing her voice down from its previous glass–shattering levels. “If you talk with her honestly, I’m sure she will return.”
“I tried that,” I said.
And I’d utterly failed in my attempts. But I couldn’t lie to Ana. I genuinely didn’t know if Lloved her. If I had just said yes, she would have come home. At least for a time. But eventually, she would have been dissatisfied again.
Until she gave up on this foolish desire of hers to have love between us, she seemed determined to stay as far away from me as she could.
“We like her, Lucian. She’s a perfect match for you,” Mom continued.
“You have to find a way to make this work,” Dad said.
“I’m trying,” I told them.
They glanced at each other.
When Dad looked at me again, her face was stemer. “Is this because of Sheila?”
Chapter 0022
ed, surprised.
+25 BONUS
“I don’t know if Sheila has cast a spell on you, or what has possessed you to choose her over Aria, but you need to reconsider,” Mom said. “Aria is clearly the most suitable match for you! Why, even before your marriage, when your father and I suggested to her that she should be a homemaker to properly take care of you, she promptly agreed. Sheila would never be so willing…”
I stilled a moment, fully processing her words. Then I spoke “Are you saying… that you asked Aria to become a housewife?”
“Of course,” Mom said. “It’s tradition for the wives of the Alpha Kings to look after the home and their husbands. Aria seemed eager to please you and do things the right way‘
12
Was that why Aria had changed after the wedding? Overnight, she seemed to have lost her own ambition and instead became so invested in taking care of me and the house.
I had thought her lazy or lost…
But she was truly just trying to honor my mother’s request? And our pack’s old, tired traditions?
I felt a headache coming on.
